jacsonville golf magazine

GOLFJ A C K S O N V I L L E

VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 5

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TravelBlack Diamond

— page 11 InstructionPlay in May

— page 13Brent BeairdSEC Football

— page 10

MA

Y

L O C A L G O L F & S P O R T S M A G A Z I N E

Want a red coat?

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Jacksonville Golf Magazine • May 2012 • www.jaxgolfmag.com 3

The Players continues to get more classy. This year, they’ve added several fan friendly venues. Here are three of my favorites:

Wine & Dine on 9: Enjoy gourment food by Mat-thew Medure. It’s located left of the 9th fairway in a nicely shaded area.

The Oasis: Located behind/between the 9th and 18th tee boxes, it offers one of the more unique vantage points. You can watch players hit thier tee shots at the same time. In addition it also offers spectators with ground passes to enjoy a 3,000 sq. ft. air conditioned tent.

Stadium Village: This seems to get better every year. The area is almost completely enclosed and air conditioned. Test your short game at the PwC’s First Tee Challenge featuring the scaled replica of the famous 17th hole island green. Did you know that there is over 17,000 gallons of water pumped in for that?

They have also improved upon several other venues, es-pecially the big improvement (very much appreciated!) to the on-course restrooms. All these locations will not be hard to find as they have improved the signage as well. <<<

We feature the volunteer leaders in this issue and I hope you appreciate the hard work these people have done. These are the people who brought the tournament here, the ones who pledged to keep working even though the Greater Jacksonville Open was to disappear, and the con-trol would go to the PGA Tour. Yes, many of the good old days are gone (remember the Swingers Tent?) but times are much, much better, and much more secure. <<<

On the subject of volunteers: there was an obituary in the Jacksonville newspaper for a 93-year-old named Harry Fromme and the text stated that he had been chairman of the Jacksonville Open. Got a couple of calls about that; who was he? As you’ll note in this issue, that name doesn’t appear among the Redcoats. No, don’t write it off to the usual liberties that are granted in obits. Mr. Fromme was a key player in the Jacksonville Junior Chamber of Commerce, I’m told, and indeed was the 1950 Jacksonville Open chairman back when the pros played at Hyde Park. Might have chaired the event when Ben Hogan made an 11 on the par-3 6th, which is why it’s called “Hogan’s Alley” to this day.

Congrats to Gary Owensby and the other Jacksonville

Area GA leaders for bringing back the Mixed event. Heard good reports.

Here’s why you shouldn’t expect to win a scramble tour-nament: at a recent benefit at one of our city’s better courses, the winning team had a gross 49. How did they do that?, they were asked. “We had six eagles,” one re-plied. <<<

Our pros are raising money for the family of Nike rep Scott Railing, who passed away last month. A tourna-ment, being hosted by Bill Hughes and Matt Borocz at the Stadium course, is set for Wednesday June 13. The format is a 6-person scramble with a 1:30 shotgun start. The goal is $80,000 to go toward the education of son Carson, who’s now 4. Please visit www.NFJG.org for ad-ditional tournament information. <<<

I’m at [email protected].

Players addamenities

Hello fellow Tweeps.Check us out at twitter.com/jaxgolfmagFrom the Publisher

Brian LamarrePublisher

Stephen J. SumnerBranch Manager

5000 Sawgrass Village Circle, Suite 6Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082904.373.0542 | 904.373.0633

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4 Jacksonville Golf Magazine • May 2012 • www.jaxgolfmag.com

People

Jacksonville Golf Magazine

PO Box 65536Orange Park, FL 32065

p. 904.383.7587 f. [email protected]

PublisherBrian Lamarre

[email protected]

EditorFred Seely

[email protected]

AdvertisingRyan Gilbert

[email protected]

Jacksonville Golf Magazine is published every month and distributed throughout Northeast Florida. Reproduction without express written authorization from Jacksonville Golf Magazine is strictly prohibited. Editorial content is not necessarily the view of the publisher. All information is from sources we believe to be creditable. Neither the publisher nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the publication. The publisher accepts no liability for the statements made by advertisers.

TV announcers who work hard

• Ian Baker-Finch, CBS.

• Brandel Chamblee, The Golf Channel.

• Nick Faldo, ABC.

• Gary Koch, NBC

• Peter Kostis, CBS.

• Roger Maltbie, NBC.

• Jim Nantz, CBS.

• Dottie Pepper, NBC.

• Tim Rosaforte, The Golf Channel.

• Mike Tirico, ABC.

tenthings you should know

One of the area’s most visible people at golf events isn’t on the course. It’s Al Levene, regarded as the area’s best scoreboard operator. He’s also known for one of the most unusual golfing feats.

Learning the lettering: “I was trained in the engineering field and learned to letter decently af-ter spending about 20 years on the drawing board. The actual lettering you see on my scoreboards is a prod-uct using calligraphic markers which is the key to making professional work. The final step, of course, is the same answer the cab driver gives when asked, “How do I get to Carn-egie Hall?” “Practice, Practice, Prac-tice.”

How he got started: “I did scoring for the annual CSX golf tournament about 30 times. They were large and many years had more than 240 play-ers. It was a big task and I enjoyed the effort very much since I also played in the events.”

Where you’ll see him: At about 15 events a year including the JAGA Amateur and the association’s other

major tournaments, the Underwood Cup, Hidden Hills championships and several one-day events.

Pitfalls and advice: “The hardest thing is to do the job as quickly as possible without ever making an error. When you do make an error, do your best to correct it promptly, neatly and smile. Don’t ever leave a misspelled name on the board; fix it the best you can and don’t seek someone else to take the blame.”

Age: 75.

Hometown: Miami, grew up in Tam-pa.

Business: CSX. Worked in Engineer-ing and retired in 1999 as Director of Facilities Design.

Where he plays: Jacksonville Beach with a 13.4 index.

Best round: 67 at Fort Lee, Va., while in the Army.

Unusual feat?: He aced the same hole — No. 4 at Jacksonville Beach – twice in the same day in 2009 while playing in two different groups. Both aces were witnessed by the same course ranger, Chuck Colarusso.

Man on the board

Levene and one of his scoreboards


We keep the conversation going.Look for “Jacksonville Golf Magazine” on Facebook. From the Editor

So, why should you care about the Florida State Golf Association? Let me rephrase that question: why DON’T you care?

I’ve been around and about the FSGA for the better part of three decades. In my own little way, I had something to do with what it has become, and I think I can put a perspective to the FSGA then and now.

And then I’ll tell you why you should care.

In 1985, Jim McCumber called and asked me to be on the FSGA board. Jim was the president and wanted to get at least one board member with media experience. Yes, it will take some work, he said, because we have almost no exposure and what we have is viewed with suspicion.

Gladly, I said. To get started, I called the guy who was the then-guru of Florida golf, Golfweek publisher Charley Stine, and asked him about the FSGA.

Lousy, he said. A bunch of blue tee players who didn’t care about any-thing else. Charley had exposed the previous executive director as using the FSGA to make money on the side, and the new executive director had little experience in administration. Get involved, he said, but expect to be frustrated.

I got involved and yes, I was frus-trated. Charley was right: only blue tee men.

I served a three-year term. I sat out a year and was asked back for an-other three. Another year out, then back. When I started the third term,

I decided to quit listening to the blue tee boys and see if I could get something done.

At one board meeting, the president (can’t remember who) proudly pro-claimed, “We are golf in Florida!” I quietly (well, not so quietly) asked, “If we are, why aren’t there any pros or women in the room?” If glares were Tasers, I would have been fried.

But, my little voice gave throat to others on the board who felt the same way. We banded together, raised our voices and got into the mix. A little was accomplished: the executive director’s retirement was arranged.

Charley was monitoring the prog-ress. He had sold Golfweek and was looking for action, so he started the Florida Golf Foundation, got it cer-tified by the United States GA and proceeded to declare that he now headed the state’s golf association.

THE association. Any others, he said, were merely niche groups appealing to one part of the golf population.

It hit the fan. The FSGA blue tee boys whined to the world but Char-

ley, with his very significant con-tacts through the golf world, stayed a step ahead.

My third term ended and I was out (didn’t even get a plaque, like I did for the first two terms) but Charley’s influence was ongoing and it in-spired others to look hard at where the FSGA was going (nowhere, ex-cept to the back tees) and where it should go (what it is today.)

Where is it today? Best in the na-tion. Competition for all: forward tee men, women, kids. A Golf House is being built in Tampa. An execu-tive director that loves his job, or else he’d be running a major corpo-ration. A talented staff that works hard. Volunteers out the ying-yang. Almost 500 days of competition each year (think of the organization that must take.)

Credit for me? No thanks. I probably overstated a bit in the above but, like an obituary, you can get away with a little extra.

— Fred Seely is editor of Jacksonville Golf & Sports Magazine and can be reached at

[email protected].

The FSGA:best inthe nation?

Fred Seely

Match Play Championship

JAGA Upcoming Tournaments

JAGA Junior Championship

ENTRY DEADLINE MAY 14

Eagle Landing Golf Club June 1-3

Deerwood Country Club June 18-19presented by Hurricane Junior Golf Tour

Entry forms online at www.jaxareagolfassn.com


Presidents

Peter Kirill

L.C. Ringhaver

Richard H. Stratton

Robert R. Feagin

Gordon Thompson Jr.

William W. Drennon

Greater Jacksonville Open chairmen

1965: John A. Tucker

1966: Wesley C. Paxson

1967 John D. Montgomery Sr.

1968: Lester Varn Jr.

1969 Eugene D. Cowan*

1970: Karl J. Ambrose II*

1971: Richard C. Martin

1972: George Utsey Jr.

1973: Henry W. Tuten Jr.

1974: J.D. Beckwith

1975: Frederick J. Robbins

1976: Hampton L. Walker

Players chairmen

1977 J. Thomas Gay

1978 E.A. “Ed” Nimnicht II

1979: Donald D. Zell

1980: James H. Addington Jr.

1981: Campbell L. Smith*

1982: Charles J. Renfroe*

1983: Fuller D. Tresca Jr.

1984: James R. Wilkerson Jr.

1985: Donald E. Rose

1986: Robert E. Martin

1987: Wayne E. Waters

1988: Michael T. Leavell

1989: James F. Marlier Jr.

1989: Arthur W. Browning Jr.

1990 L.A. Daniels Jr.

1991 Rufus C. Dowell

1992 Tom W. Perry

1993: Caldwell L. “Hank” Haynes

1994: Hugh E. Dunn

1995: Thomas C. Healy

1996: Gerry Hurst

1997: Anne P. Nimnicht

1998: Michael Hartley

1999: Theresa Greene Hazel

2000 Murray Beard

2001: Lynn Stoner

2002: Jack Garnett

2003: Mark Smith*

2004: Kevin Robbins

2005: Tommy Lee

2006: Rusty Pritchett

2007: Tim Tresca

2008: Ron Natherson

2009: Tommy Douglas

2010: Harold Tool

2011: Jim Fuller

2012: Curtis Hazel

Senior Players chairmen

1988: Donald R. Davis

Liberty Mutual Legends chairmen

Anne P. Nimnicht

How to get a red coatCan’t have a tournament without a chairman and that position has been part of the Players since it started.

From John Tucker (1965) to Cur-tis Hazel (this year,) people in the community have stepped forward to walk the long road to the chair-manship. It’s the pinnacle of volun-teering and it’s a big responsibility: being chairman means you’ve over the approximately 2,000 volunteers who make the Players work.

“Being chairman is a lot more than just an honor,’ says Mike Hartley, this year’s captain of the Redcoats (i.e., chairman of the chairmen) who led the volunteers in 1998. “It’s a huge responsibility. It takes a long time to get to the top, and a lot of work.”

The Players structure is much the same that Tucker set up when he chaired the first Greater Jackson-ville Open. One person at the top, vice chairs to run various divisions,

and a multitude of volunteers.

Today’s structure has the chair and a first vice chairman, who will auto-matically move up to the top next year. Then come four vice chairs; again, they’ll move in order to the top unless they prove either unwill-ing or unable to take the full re-sponsibility.

So the chairs should be in place for the next five years. That leaves one mystery: who will be the next vice chairman.

“Before each tournament, we ask the chairmen and vice chairmen to come up with names of volunteers who should be considered,” said Hartley. “That list might be pared down a little, but it identifies peo-ple. During the tournament, they’ll be under scrutiny to check them out.

“After the tournament, a committee will select a number of nominees. Maybe just two, maybe seven. The

people are brought in for interviews and one is eventually chosen.”

The tournament leaders have multi-ple duties. The most visible is to run the tournament, coordinating the many volunteers. Another duty is to be a link with the PGA Tour, to make sure the needs of Commissioner Tim Finchem, tournament director Matt Rapp and the other staff members are handled.

The least visible, but certainly not the least important, is to help sell tickets, sponsorships and the hospi-tality areas.

The chairman and the past chairmen are known as Redcoats (fvice chair-men wear blue coats) and their work continues in advising the current leaders and to help sell.

The tradition is recognized in the large sculpture near the practice range with plaques noting the year, that’s year’s champion and its chair-man.

*deceased

CoverStory


These are the “Redcoats” since the PGA Tour came to Northeast Florida in 1965.

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Gate

Aug. 19: Gate Invitational qualifier, Ponte Vedra Ocean.Aug. 26-28: Gate Invitational, Ponte Vedra Lagoon and Ocean.Dec. 4: Gate Senior qualifier, Ponte Vedra Ocean.Dec. 10-12: Gate Senior, Ponte Vedra Lagoon and Ocan.

Jacksonville Area GAwww.jaxareagolfassn.com

May 15: Directors, Magnolia Point.June 1-3: Match Play, Eagle Landing.June 23-24: Parent-Child, Hidden Hills.June 25: Directors, TBAJuly 17: Directors, Timuquana.July 19-22: Amateur, Sawgrass East-West.Sept. 18: Directors, Queen’s Harbour.Oct. 1: Bill Black Memorial Scholarship Tournament, Ponte Vedra Inn.Oct. 16: Directors, Jacksonville Beach.Nov. 19: Club Championship, San Jose.Dec. 18: Directors, Hidden Hills.

Jacksonville Women’s GAhome.comcast.net/~jwga/

May 2: Closing day, Palencia.

Northern Chapter PGAwww.nfpga.com/northernchapter/5813/

May 7: Pro-Am, Palencia.June 13: Pro-Lady, Mayport Windy Harbor.June 25-26: Chapter Championship, Marsh Creek.June 23: Shoot-Out, TBA.Aug. 1: Pro-Am, South Hampton.Aug. 15: Stableford Championship, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.Aug. 20-21: Senior Chapter Championship, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.Sept. 24: Pro-Assistant, Glen Kernan.Sept. 10: Pro-Lady, Deerwood.Oct. 21: Pro-Am, Tallahassee Capital City.Oct. 22: Pro-Am Tallahassee Southwood.Nov. 5: Pro-Am, Sawgrass.Nov. 19: Tournament of Champions, TBA.Dec. 10: Partners Pro-Am, TBA.

Northeast Florida Seniors GAwww.nefsga.com

May 14: Halifax Plantation.May 28: Selva Marina.June 11: Prestwick.June 25: Marsh Creek.July 9: Ormond Beach Oceanside.July 23: South Hampton.Aug. 6: Grand Haven.Aug. 20: St. Johns G&CC.Sept. 10: LPGA Legends.Sept. 24: Magnolia Point.Oct. 15: Club De Bonmont, Plantation Bay.Oct. 29: Eagle Harbor.Nov. 14: Palm Coast Palm Harbor.Nov. 21: Hidden Hills.Dec. 10: Palm Coast Cypress course.

PGA Tourswww.pgatour.com

May 10-13: Players, TPC Stadium.Aug. 9-12: PGA Championship, Kiawah Island.Oct. 18-21: McGladrey Classic, Sea Island.Oct. 18-21: Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open, Dye’s Valley.

LPGA Tour (area events) www.lpga.com

Nov. 17-20: CME Group Titleholders, Orlando Grand Cypress.

Other

May 2: Dreams Come True benefit, Timuquana.

North Florida PGAwww.nfpga.com

May 14: Pro-Official, Orlando Shingle Creek.June 4-7: Match Play, Orlando Isleworth.July 9-10: 2-Person, Orlando Orange Lake.July 16: Shootout, Orlando Orange Tree.July 30-31: PGA Professional National Championship qualifier, Palm Coast Hammock Beach.Aug. 6-7: Assistants Championship, Haines City Southern Dunes.Aug. 13: Pro-Superintendent, The Villages.Aug. 23-24: Senior PGA Professional National Championship qualifier, Reunion.Sept. 17-20: Championship, Sarasota Ritz-Carlton.

www.fsga.org

May 4-5: Mid-Am Stroke Play Championship, Bonita Bay.May 7-11: Women’s Amateur, Weston.May 19-20: Two-Man Shootout, Dade City Lake Jovita.June 2-3: Mid-Am Four-Ball North, Gainesville CC.June 2-3: Mid-Am Four-Ball South, West Palm Beach Mayacoo Lakes.June 7-8: Women’s Senior Amateur, Fort Myers Fiddlesticks.June 8-10: Public Links, Fort Lauderdale Jacaranda.June 10-14: Senior Match Play, Fory Myers Renaissance.

June 11-12: Girls Junior, Lecanto Black Diamond.June 21-24: Men’s Amateur, Jupiter Bear’s Club.June 30-July 1: Summer Mixed, Hobe Sound.July 6-8: Women’s Stroke Play, Orlando Ritz-Carlton.July 7-8: Four-Ball, Winter Haven Interlachen.July 10-12: Boys Junior, Sawgrass.July 20-22: Florida Open, Bradenton Ritz-Carlton.July 25-26: Boys 16-18 Match Play, TBA.July 25-27: Boys 13-15 and Girls 13-18 Match Play, Bonita Springs Worthington.

July 28-29: Parent-Child, Walt Disney World.July 30-31: Junior Florida Cup, Naples Old Collier.Aug. 4-5: Women’s Four-Ball Stroke Play, Dade City Lake Jovita.Aug. 9-12: Match Play, CC of Orlando.Aug. 11-12: Junior Team, Vero Beach Sandridge.Aug. 13-14: Florida-Georgia Women’s Match, CC of Ocala.Aug. 24-26: Mid-Senior, Longboat Key.Sept. 15-16: Mid-Senior Four-Ball South, Naples Eagle Creek.Sept. 15-16: Mid-Senior Four-Ball North, Golden Ocala.Sept. 22-23: Women’s Four-Ball Match Play, Vero Beach Grand Harbor.

Oct. 4-7: Mid-Amateur, Vero Beach Johns Island.Oct. 6-7: Fall Mixed, Orlando MetroWest.Oct. 9-10: Senior Four-Ball, Port St. Lucie Legacy.Oct. 18-19: Florida Cup, Vero Beach Quail Valley.Nov. 10-11: Club Team, Vero Beach Grand Harbor.Dec. 4: Women’s Tournament of Champions, Reunion.

USGA Qualifiers (nearest sites)

May 7: Men’s Open, Timuquana.May 14: Men’s Open, Marsh Creek.May 15: Women’s Open, Ormond Beach Plantation Bay.June 13-14: Junior Boys, Gainesville CC.June 18-19: Public Links, St. Johns G&CC.June 20: Junior Girls, Orlando Rio Pinar.June 20: Senior Open, Golden Ocala.July 13: Women’s Open, Palm Beach Gardens Wanderers.July 16-17: Men’s Amateur, U. of Florida.July 30-31: Men’s Amateur, Hammock Dunes.Aug. 6: Men’s Mid-Amateur, San Jose.Aug. 15: Senior Women’s Amateur, Palm Beach Gardens Ballenisles.Aug. 29: Women’s Mid-Amateur, Sarasota Laurel Oaks.Sept. 10: Senior Men’s Amateur, Amelia National.

Calendar Sponsored by Underwood’s Jewelers

Florida State GA

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Here’s an inside look at this year’s SEC sched-ules:

Alabama faces Michi-gan Sept. 1 in one of the most attractive non-conference games

of the Labor Day weekend. Two weeks later, the Tide is at Arkansas in a huge divisional tilt. The Nov. 3 game at LSU is already scheduled for a CBS primetime kickoff.

Arkansas hosts Rutgers on Sept. 22 the week after playing Alabama. The Hogs have consecutive road games twice: at Texas A&M Sept. 29 and at Auburn Oct. 6, and at South Carolina Nov. 10 and at Mississippi State on Nov. 17 before hosting LSU on Friday, Nov. 23.

Auburn begins in Atlanta on Sept. 1 playing Clemson before travel-ing the following week to revenge-minded Mississippi State. The Tigers host LSU on Sept. 22 and Arkansas on Oct. 6.

Florida’s has consecutive road games at Texas A&M Sept. 8 and Tennessee Sept. 15. The Gators have a brutal stretch with LSU at home on Oct. 6 before traveling to Vanderbilt, home against South Carolina, Georgia in Jacksonville and home against Mis-souri Nov. 3, their last SEC game.

Georgia travels to Missouri on Sept 8. The South Carolina game, normal-ly in early September, is Oct. 6. Once again, Georgia escapes playing LSU, Alabama or Arkansas.

Kentucky begins the season with three non-conference games: at Louisville and home against Kent State and Western Kentucky. The Wildcats have road games at Florida Sept. 22, Arkansas Oct. 13 and Mis-souri Oct. 27.

LSU starts the season with non-con-

ference foes North Texas, Washing-ton and Idaho. Games at Florida Oct. 6, home against South Carolina Oct. 13, at Texas A&M Oct. 20 and home against Alabama Nov. 3 will define the season.

Mississippi State hosts Jackson State, travels to Troy and hosts South Alabama in September. The Sept. 8 home game against Auburn is pivotal. State’s bowl eligibility will ride on games at Alabama Oct. 27, hosting Texas A&M Nov. 3, at LSU Nov. 10 and home against Ar-kansas Nov. 17.

Missouri has three intriguing non-conference games with home tilts against Arizona State Sept. 15 and Syracuse Nov. 17 and at UCF on Sept. 15. They also host Georgia Sept. 8 and play at South Carolina Sept. 22 and at Alabama Oct. 13. Mizzo trav-els to newbie Texas A&M Nov. 24.

Ole Miss plays all non-conference games to start the season beginning with Central Arkansas, UTEP and Texas before traveling to Tulane. The SEC schedule has tough road games at Alabama Sept. 29, Arkansas Oct. 27, Georgia Nov. 3 and LSU Nov. 17.

South Carolina opens the season on ESPN at Vanderbilt on Thursday

night Aug. 30. The non-conference games include East Carolina, UAB and Clemson. The Florida game, usually in November, is Oct. 20 in Gainesville.

Tennessee begins the season playing N. C. State in Atlanta on Friday, Aug. 31. The Vols season will be defined by a four-game stretch starting on Sept. 29 at Georgia, at Mississippi State, home against Alabama and at South Carolina. The final home game against Kentucky is a revenge game.

Texas A&M has non-conference games in September at Louisiana Tech in the opener and at SMU Sept. 15. Their tough SEC stretch is Ar-kansas at home on Sept. 29, then at Ole Miss, hosting LSU before travel-ing to Auburn, Mississippi State and Alabama in consecutive weeks.

Vanderbilt plays three quality oppo-nents in September: South Carolina at home, then road games at North-western Sept. 8 and Georgia Sept. 22. Vandy goes to Missouri Oct. 6 before hosting Florida and Auburn.

— Brent Beaird writes for Lindyssports.com, Gator Bait magazine and Samssportsline.com.

He can be heard on 1010XL sports radio in Jack-sonville. Brent, a Heisman Trophy voter, can be

contacted at [email protected] and on twitter @brentbeaird

Who playswho in SEC

Brent Beaird

College Football


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We keep the conversation going.Look for “Jacksonville Golf Magazine” on Facebook.

Black Diamond turns 25 this year with a new owner and a big effort to attract outside play. You know it as the course with holes in and around a quarry but you probably haven’t played it. Now you can.

Travel

The 15th hole is a short par-4 in the quarry. The tee is on top of the quarry (top right) and your tee shot has to be accurate. A good player will use 3-wood, wedge. That is, if he hits it straight.

A Diamond in the rough

LocationIt’s about a half-hour east of Ocala. Get on I-75, then go west about a half-hour on SR 200. The address is Lecanto but you won’t see the town unless you’re looking for a post of-fice. Black Diamond in the sticks, by any measure.

What’s thereTwo 18-hole courses and a full-length 9-holer, all designed by Tom Fazio. A fabulous clubhouse and ev-ery golf amenity. It’s a real estate development so there are swimming pools and tennis courts, too.

The coursesThe Quarry is the poster child with holes 13-17 through a limestone quarry. Those are spectacular holes and overshadow the other 13, which

also are terrific. The second course is called the Ranch with lots of sand and equal difficulty, and the 9-holer can stretch to 3,500 yards.

The quarry holesRemember the Ravines? The quarry is about three times deeper. The five holes start with a long par 3, then a short par 5 that wraps around the quarry. You then go down into the thing for a short par 4, then back up to play a mid-length par 4 along he rim. It ends with a long par 3 with the green set back into a gap in the quarry. Scary all the way.

OwnersEscalante, a Texas company that operates golf courses in numer-ous states. The development was founded by Stan Olsen, who made a

fortune as founder of Digital Equip-ment and spent a lot of it on this baby. As things have gone, it went into receivership and Escalante now has it.

What it costsTwo ways to find out: have your pro call, or ask for a Stay and Play pack-age. The former seems to depend on your pro’s pull. The latter, at the moment, is a package of two rounds daily and one night’s accommoda-tions in an on-course cottage for $495.

More infowww.blackdiamondranch.com, 800-328-8099.

(904) 940-6088 : www.GolfWGV.com : St. Augustine, Florida

In honor of Sam Snead’s Birthday, the Slammer & Squire Golf Course is offering an exclusive 1-week special! It’s our way of saying thank you to one of our legendary co-designers and Hall of Fame Members.

When you play a round of golf at the Slammer & Squire at World Golf Village Resort the week of Slammin’ Sam’s birthday - May 27 - June 1, 2012 –

you’ll receive a $10 merchandise gift card.

Plus, play on May 27 and you’ll receive a complimentary admission ticket to the World Golf Hall of Fame, one round of golf on the 18-hole putting course and one shot at the Hall of Fame Challenge Hole.

Call (904) 940-6088 to book your tee time today, or visit us online at www.Golf WGV.com.

Happy Birthday Sam!

JAX Golf Ad - May 2012.indd 1 4/27/2012 4:26:02 PM


There is an old business school joke about oper-ating profit. An analyst tells the manager of a unprofitable factory that he’s losing 17 cents on every unit he makes.

“Well,” the manager replies, “we’ll just have to make it up in volume!”

Yes, perhaps only an MBA student would think that’s funny. But four of five golf courses today are losing money, and running a golf course as a loss leader to sell luxury homes around it isn’t an option any more; an owner can’t make up the loss with the volume of home sales.

Which is why professional golf course management industry is booming.

“A golf course management com-pany approaches a golf course as a business asset,” explains M.G. Oren-der, president of the Jacksonville-based Hampton Golf. “We have on our staff specialists in every facet of the business, from food and bever-age through turf management. We dissect every piece of the business. Within 30 days, we generally have built a new model that has a lot of the fat trimmed, and our marketing people are looking at how can we be-gin to build the top line.”

Hampton Golf is the world’s 24th largest golf course management com-pany, according to Golf, Inc. maga-zine, and one of the two local firms that are major players in the indus-try (the other is the PGA Tour, which owns and operates its TPC courses). Orender himself is a past president of the PGA of America, the golf pro’s as-sociation, and has been both a golf course superintendent and a pro.

Although owners, managers and staff have run some clubs for their own benefit, rather than to make money, very little escapes Orender’s experi-

enced eye. “I looked at one budget that had money for 14 carry-all carts, but only 15 greens staff, many of whom are sitting on a mower much of the time.”

Hampton Golf doesn’t go in and fire people, Orender says. They do retrain staff to perform a variety of func-tions.

“As long as they’re willing to learn the new model, we’re fine keeping most of the people we get. They’ve often had no direction, or even mis-direction, but most staffers have good ideas about how things can be improved. We do see some staff re-duction in many cases, but I’m proud to say that a year or so into project, the same people usually are there.”

According to Golf Inc., the golf course management industry grew by 11 percent in the U.S. during 2010. One reason is that golf courses are no longer are an amenity provided by developers to sell homes. The de-velopers are selling them, or tying to. Unless his course is at least at a break-even point, a developer can’t sell a golf course except at a bargain price.

That’s when a professional manage-ment company often is brought in.

“Our goal is to make golf courses sus-tainable,” Orender explains. “That means paying its way and turning a modest profit over the long term. That long view is critical. You don’t want to fool a prospective member that because the dues now are $250 a month into thinking that he’ll be able to play the course for that price for the rest of his retirement, when the real cost of his membership should be $500.”

Hampton Golf manages 20-some courses, owning some and managing some for other owners, and the ros-

ter is in constant flux. The company was started by Orender and partner Ed Burr, the founder of LandMar, which developed South Hampton, North Hampton and several other golf course communities in North Florida and South Georgia. Today, Orender says that the challenge is to determine an identity for Hamp-ton Golf, since investors are looking to fund the company’s acquisition of more golf properties.

In his long career, M.G. Orender has managed almost every type of golf courses, from munis to high-end pri-vate equity clubs. “We’ve been suc-cessful at all levels,” he says. “The bulk of what we have looks like South Hampton, though. We can manage and operate a variety of clubs be-cause of the breadth of experience we have in our company.”

That experience has taught Orender that all golf courses have a common goal. “They have to be self-sustain-ing,” he says. “If they provide a qual-ity experience for the members and golfers at a fair price, and keep their costs in line, any type of golf course can be a successful business.”

Making money in a tough market

Business

Full name: Morgan Guy Orender.

Resides: Jacksonville Beach.

Family: wife Donna, four children.

Career: head pro and superinten-dent, Diamond Hills GC, Tampa, 1984; president, Golftrust, 1989; president, Granite Golf, 1996; president, Hampton Golf, 1998.

College: University of Florida

Associations: PGA of America, president, 2003; North Florida Section, president, 1985-87

Warren Miller


David Anthony, Jim Kuhn, Brian Sachs and John Yacalavitch were the winners in the Jacksonville Area GA’s senior championship last month at Eagle Harbor.

Anthony had even-par 216 to win the 50-and-over division by five over Scott Jones. Doug Conkey was third.

In 60-over, played over 36 holes, Kuhn had 139, seven better than Dave Spannbauer and eight ahead of Dale Lindenmoyer.

In 70-over, Sachs won by one over Frank Jurney with 144.

In 80-over, an 18-hole event, Yaca-lavitch’s 79 bested Al Miller by six.

The Junior championship is tak-ing a different turn this year as the association has agreed to merge it with a local event on the Jacksonville-based Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.The Hurricane tour runs about 60 events annually in the South-east. There have been two here already this year, at Fleming Island and Amelia National, and the June 18-19 JAGA Junior at Deerwood will make the fifth with a July 23-24 date at Jack-sonville G&CC and a Aug. 18-19 date at Eagle Harbor previously scheduled.Hurricane executive director Mario Conte said the players from JAGA-member clubs would not have to join his tour to partici-pate in the JAGA Junior.There will be two age groups in both girls’ and boys’ divisions, 11-14 and 15-18.

Information is a www.hjgt.com.

The JAGA Match Play will be played at Eagle Landing on June 1-3 with a field of 32. Players who made the cut in last year’s Amateur are exempt and those not making the cut will get pri-ority as alternates. Tournament chair Joe Fitzgerald of Selva Marina said the com-mittee may also invite top area players who did not compete in last year’s Amateur.

The Sawgrass members gave a check for $9,180 to the schol-arship fund at the directors’ meeting at Mill Cove, bringing the club’s contribution to al-most $150,000 since 1991. Other donations came from the Planta-tion Country Club, $4,830; Marsh Creek, $2,450; and the Marsh Landing senior men’s association, $475.

Kuhn gets his trophy from JAGA President Bob Streightiff

Anthony wins Senior

JAGA notes

JAGA www.jaxareagolfassn.com

North Hampton pro Ed Tucker (left) receives a gift from Jacksonville Area GA vice president Gary Owensby after speaking to the association directors at last month’s meeting at Mill Cove. Tucker is a former JAGA scholar.

The Jacksonville Area Golf Association brought back the Mixed Championship and the winners are on either side of JAGA Vice President Gary Owensby: gross winners Blake and Jill Holcomb and net winners Larry and Pat Warren. The tournament was played at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation.


George Sheffield has made a success in the insurance and saloon busi-nesses, and now he’s trying golf. He’s the new operator of Amelia Links, the golf course adjacent to the Fernandina Beach airport. Shef-field took over the lease when its previous operator pulled out.

Who’s Sheffield? A third-genera-tion Fernandina resident. His grand-father moved there in 1907 to open a grocery store. Sheffield purchased the Amelia Insurance Agency in 1984 and started Amelia Underwrit-ers the following year. He since has sold the agency but retains the un-derwriting office. Along the way, he bought the Palace Saloon and also a B&B. “I’m the fourth owner of the Palace and it has been continuously operated since 1903.”

Why the golf course? “Faith. A friend told me ‘You must be nuts.’ My business associate said ‘You have a lot of guts.’ My banker said ‘I’m not taking this ride with you.’ But my family agreed: if there’s a good op-portunity with a good value, if the timing is right and you have a good plan, then you’ll succeed as long as

you have a whole lot of faith.”

What he’s done. “We took over last July and cleaned the place up, then starting promoting in the commu-nity. We hired good people and gave them the plan.”

His hiring. The staff includes three longtime pros in this area: Scott Womble, Alan Clack and Mark Daley. “Together they have 88 years of ex-perience. Wait! Make that 88 1/2. They’ve been here six months.”

The course: It opened in 2001 as Royal Amelia. The original develop-ers turned it back to the bank, and then Amelia Island Plantation too it over. That didn’t work and the bank hired Davis Love III’s management company, then transferred the man-agement to Sheffield when they ac-cepted their offer.”

Why he’s confident: “I know how to run a business and the same prin-ciples apply whether you run the Palace Saloon, a bed and breakfast, or a golf course.”

His goals for 2012: “One, to have great weather. Two, to get up to 400 members; we now have about 280.

Three, to have a stronger economy. And four, to elect someone in No-vember who will help the economy, rather than hurt it.”

His future hope. “We have 1,200 feet on the river, just on the other side of our parking lot. If a hotel op-erator would build there, we could be a destination.”

New man on the tee

Sheffield and his head pro, Scott Womble.

www.maryhafemangolf.com

Mary Hafeman, PGA & LPGAAward Winning Golf Instruction/ CoachingMen – Women- Juniors | (904) 233-0989


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May is such a great month in Jacksonville for golf! You can feel the excitement in the air leading with the Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass.

For me, the Players is the catalyst that gets everyone motivated and interested in golf. If you are a play-

er, going to the Players is where you can watch the best players of the game compete on a very challenging golf course.

I like to go to the practice tee and watch the warm-ups and practice sessions.

Then I follow a player for about 4-5 holes to see how they approach the ball, their routine and course man-agement. Each player is different in how they approach each shot. It’s a good way to learn and see that even the best players in the game do make mistakes in their games but they also have the ability to shake it off and get back on track quicker.

I’d suggest following players on the course for a few holes to see how they approach each shot and situ-ation that they encounter. Their problem solving and thinking is fun to watch and you can learn a lot on how to get yourself out of the same situations.

If you just love to be outside, the course is just a beautiful place to see people, walk around, eat, volunteer, see some golf and especially support one of the many charities that are being supported.

There’s more in May.

There was the Hall of Fame induc-tion, of course, at the wonderful World Golf Village. Hope you were able to make it to see this ceremony in a wonderfl showcase of golf’s his-tory and traditions.

May is PGA’s Play Golf America’s Free Lesson Month and Get Golf Ready Programs. We are all excited to see the best players play the game at the Players and now it’s time to test out your own games. Get Golf Ready Clinics are great ways to get involved in golf if you are a begin-ner or getting back into the game. They are affordable group clinic se-ries of 5 – 1.5 hour golf lessons.

I offer a variety of programs through my website, www.maryhafemangolf. com, or if you go to www.playgolfa-merica.com you can find a program close to you. Bring your friends and family to a clinic; it’s a great way to learn and spend fun time together.

We are just around the corner for school to be out for the summer. I remember how excited I was to get out to play golf with my friends and family in the summer months. Jack-sonville has a wonderful assortment of junior programs and North Florida Junior Tour offers competitive play-

ing opportunities for all level play-ers.

Almost every pro offers a program and, for instance, mine also has a focus on the essential skills to play competitive golf: Ball Control --- De-cision Making --- Self Management.

So, Play Golf, Jacksonville!!

Mary Hafeman, is a PGA and LPGA pro who runs the Mary Hafeman Golf Experience. The North

Florida PGA 2011 Teacher of the Year, she teaches at Windsor Parke and The Champions Club in

Jacksonville and Pine and Cypress Course in Palm Coast, and can be reached at www.maryhafeman-

golf.com, at [email protected] or at 233-0989

Instruction

It’s a great month

Mary Hafeman

Hello fellow Tweeps.Check us out at twitter.com/jaxgolfmag

Donate to the JAGA Scholarship FundAbout two dozen area youth benefit each year from a JAGA Scholarship.

Your club’s JAGA directors will tell you how to participate, or go to www.jaxareagolfassn.com.

“Each player is different in how they approach each shot. It’s a good way to learn and see that even the best players in the game...”


Tournaments & Notes

The Orange Park duo of Charles Raul-erson and Sean Gorgone won the annual Pro-Pro at Pablo Creek. The event is an invitational and is not part of the Northern Chapter PGA schedule.

The two had a gross 127 in the 36-hole event, three better than

Timuquana’s Clint Avret and Gerry James of Power Golf. Next came the Palencia team of Mike Broderick and Kyle DeVries.

Scott Railing of Nike, a PGA pro, and Jim Lohrbauer were fourth.

The pro-pro attracted 32 teams.

Raulerson team wins Pro-Pro

Tony Kreig won the Northeast Flor-ida Seniors GA championship last month with a 149, five better than Rem Seil.

The event was played at Grand Ha-ven and Eagle Landing.

Gross flight winners were Seil, Keith Mueller, Dick Tyson and Vince Gub-bini.

Net winners were Hollis Tinsley, Steven McLaughlin, Anthony Arcuri and Rick Grant.

NEFSGA goes to Tony Kreig

The North Florida PGA Northern Chapter recently held their sec-ond Social event of the year. The event, which was sponsored by Callaway Golf, was enjoyed by PGA Members, Apprentices and their families. Guests enjoyed a great evening at Latitude30 with food, beverages and an exciting bowling tournament. Jarrett Mankin, Darren Peterson, Will Newman and Tamara Aycock were the winning team. Each player received a gift certificate to Bis-tro Aix in San Marco. The Chap-ter will be hosting their next Social Event at the Jacksonville Sharks Game in June.

Jack Aschenbach, Jarrett Mankin, Will New-man, Darren Peterson and Tamara Aycock

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